Springbank 14yo SC ’Exclusively distilled for Christer Pöhner & Pyrre’ 52,3% ABV

This beauty was privately bottled for an acquaintance of mine, a big thanks to Pyrre for parting with a bottle! It has been matured solely in a sherry cask (probably first-fill oloroso as you can see from the color) for 14 years so this ought to be a treat! It was ordered back in the days when Springbank distillery still sold casks to private persons and not only did official bottlings as they do nowadays.  

Nose:

When opening the bottle, a quite winey or port-y nose with very sweet overtones spreads throughout the room… holding the glass about 10 centimeters away from my nose I smell wonderful tones of dark raisins and chocolate as if they were together in a liquer-ish mix, absolutely beautiful! Coming closer to the glass the sherry-influence is really heavy and dark with dried figs, red grapes and a handful of big peat, leather and a wonderful alcohol-sweetness together with a very evident sweet-liqourice (the ones in the ’Gott & blandat’-candybag). The nose on this beauty is soo deep and goes on forever.

Palate: 

The first thing on the palate is definitely peat, not at all agressive but rather soft (but still dry in some strange way…) Then comes an incredible sweetness in the form of dark raisins, dried figs, then something kind of orange-y and now it starts to get really dry in an oaky sort of way. The dryness and the aftertaste is very long and a funny and great thing is that the alcohol is not at all overpowering. Very nice balance between the peat, the sherry influence and the alcohol. This is a great dram (not that it comes as a surprise). Very very more-ish and I come to think of Glendronach 21yo but adding the peat of course J Once again, a big thanks to Pyrre! Slainthé